Just as the Major League Soccer season is heating up, the CONCACAF Champions Cup is coming to an end. Just four teams remain in North America’s premier club competiton — two MLS sides and two from MLS’ fierce rival, Liga MX.
The final is guaranteed to have one MLS side competing against a Liga MX outfit, with Vancouver Whitecaps taking on Inter Miami in a two-legged affair tonight and next Wednesday, with Cruz Azul and Tigres tied 1-1.
Vancouver is a +125 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the first leg, with Inter Miami at +205. Odds have not yet been released regarding advancement to the final, but the CONCACAF Champions Cup operates under an away goals tiebreaker, so both attacks should be in full force during both matches.
Fixtures
Inter Miami CF at Vancouver Whitecaps, 10:30 p.m. ET, April 24
Vancouver Whitecaps at Inter Miami CF, 8 p.m. ET, April 30
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami prediction, pick
Inter Miami has been the talk of Major League Soccer over the past two seasons, ever since Lionel Messi made the journey over from Paris. Messi in the MLS has been nothing short of a sensation; last season, he scored 20 goals and assisted his teammates for 11 more in just 19 appearances (15 starts), being named MLS MVP. He’s also attracted plenty of other European talent to travel across the Atlantic, with Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris joining LAFC and his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets joining him in South Florida and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne likely to play in MLS next season.
Messi hasn’t always been available, as he’s carefully managing the load on his 37-year-old body, but he’s appeared in six of Miami’s eight games so far this season, and he’s second on the team behind only Suárez with five goal contributions. Miami is the only invincible team in MLS’ Eastern Conference, although three draws mean the Herons sit just third in the table. They’ve allowed the fewest goals in the East, as veteran Argentine Óscar Ustari has become the first-choice starter and has produced an excellent season so far.
But as good as Inter Miami has been, the Whitecaps have been better with a far less star-studded roster. Vancouver sits at the top of the West, having won six of its nine games and drawing two others. Its early success has come as somewhat of a surprise; last season, the Whitecaps finished just eighth in the Western Conference, ending the regular season in exceptionally poor form and falling to LAFC in Round One of the playoffs. So far, though, Brian White leads the conference with six goals and Japanese goalie Yohei Takaoka has been excellent between the sticks. Vancouver ranks third in the MLS in shots on target while allowing the fewest, while Inter Miami ranks near the middle of the pack in the former category.
Miami required a 3-1 win in the second leg over LAFC in order to advance to the semis, but otherwise, it’s been extremely convincing throughout the competition. Vancouver has probably had a harder path, but it has drawn four of its six matches so far and lost another, so the Herons certainly come into the match in better form in the competition. It won’t be enough, though; the Whitecaps have been the better team all season and they’ll notch a home victory tonight.
